Despite different beliefs, backgrounds and nationalities, the majority of the people in the world still feels that religion plays a positive role in their country. WIN/Gallup International recently came to this conclusion after surveying nearly 67,000 people in 65 countries across the globe, which represents 77 percent of the global population.

The poll asked respondents whether they thought religion played a positive role, negative role or no role in their country, or if they were unsure.

“This survey has produced some fascinating results,” wrote Jean-Marc Leger, president of WIN/Gallup International, in a report. “Over half of the world still believes that religion plays a positive role in their country. Having said that, it is interesting to note that Western Europe bucks this trend considerably, highlighting the complex role of religion within the region and the impact that a secular outlook has on a country. The correlation between education and people’s view on the role of religion in society also poses some interesting questions.”

Here are some of the highlights of the poll:

* The overall results indicated that 59 percent of participants thought religion played a positive role in their country, and 22 believed it to be negative.

* The most positive country in the world was Indonesia, which was 95 percent positive.

* The United States’ numbers showed that 62 percent voted for positive, 19 percent for negative, 11 percent for no role, and 8 percent were unsure.

* The gap between the positive and negative votes (or net positivity) varied from region to region. In Western Europe, the positivity and negativity were nearly the same at 36 percent and 32 percent respectively. However, the other regions showed more of a gap, such as Africa with 76 percent positive and 11 percent negative.

* Education proved to be a factor in the way that respondents answered. The results suggested more skepticism from those with master’s degrees and Ph.Ds., who were 52 percent positive and 32 percent negative. People with no education were 70 percent positive and 13 percent negative.

* As far as religious affiliation, Muslims were the most positive at 76 percent, followed by Protestants at 72 percent, and Hindus were the least positive at 55 percent.